Category: Sports

by John Glennon, Titansonline.com

The Titans’ victory over the Cleveland Browns last Sunday may not have earned style points, but it left the team in solid position heading into the bye week.

Tennessee has won two straight games, is tied with Jacksonville atop the AFC South and will host its next two opponents – Baltimore and Cincinnati.

Here are five key questions for the Titans as they head into their annual break:

Through the first four games of the season, Mariota was averaging about 30 rushing yards per contest, which put him on pace for a career high on the ground. He’d also already rushed for three touchdowns, which was more than he’d totaled in either of his first two seasons. In addition, Mariota had run for eight first downs, keeping drives alive.

What the numbers don’t show is the extra split-second Mariota often gives his backs on running plays, on read options and more traditional runs. Defenders have to hesitate, making sure Mariota isn’t keeping the ball himself and running.

In addition, a fully healthy Mariota means defenses must commit more often to using a spy on pass plays, eliminating a defender from pass coverage or from the rush.

“I think hopefully if he’s back to full-strength we can get back to our full game-planning and get back to what we’re good at, and that’s multiple things.” Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. “Hopefully that’s the case, that’s the plan as we sit here.”

Are the Titans facing more defenders in the box this year than last? – The Titans aren’t generally facing more defenders in the box this year, but they haven’t had as much success running against defenses designed to stop the run game.

In 2016, the Titans ran the ball against eight defenders in the box a league-high 127 times, averaging 4.58 yards per carry on those plays. Through seven games this season, the Titans have run the ball against eight defenders in the box 46 times, averaging 3.02 yards per carry on those plays.

“A lot of these teams, and Cleveland being one of them, that’s how they stop the run,” Mularkey said of packing at least eight defenders in the box. “They’re up there – they all know you can do that. That typically wins games.

“We’ve had to try to establish (the running game) and sometimes that hasn’t happened until the second half of the games. Our guys are all in with that. We’re going to go until it breaks. But I’d like us to be better obviously than we are.”

Let’s remember that Davis, the fifth overall pick in the draft, didn’t play a single preseason game because of his hamstring injury, but still stood out in the Titans’ opener – catching six passes for 69 yards against Oakland.

Mularkey has said several times that Davis has helped his cause by keeping his mind focused on football despite the injury, something that’s not always easy for rookies.

“We have a lot of confidence in him,” Mularkey said. “He has kept up mentally with everything we’re doing for these games although knowing for a fact that he’s not going to play. I call on him just as I call on all the other players (at offensive meetings). I call them rapid fire question. He gets the answers all the time. I know he’s mentally into it.”

Mularkey said Davis was running routes on his own Monday, and that the 6-3, 209-pound Illinois native is tentatively scheduled to return to practice next Monday. So it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Davis back in the lineup against the Ravens.

What can the Titans build on coming out of the break? – The Titans’ defense has bounced back in a big way over the last three weeks.

After Tennessee’s one-sided loss to Houston, the Titans’ defense was ranked 29th overall in the league. But after impressive showings against Miami, Indianapolis and Cleveland, the defense has jumped 13 spots to 16th overall.

In those three contests, the Titans allowed just two defensive touchdowns, the first time the team had accomplished that feat since a three-game stretch in 2010 against Oakland, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants. Tennessee also forced a combined seven turnovers – four interceptions and three fumbles.

Even allowing for defensive points scored against the Titans, Tennessee surrendered an average of just 15.7 points per game over the past three weeks – tied for seventh-best in the league during that stretch.

“I think we’ve played very well,” Mularkey said. “If you look at them like we’ve done … stopping the run, the turnovers we’ve created, our red zone play has been outstanding. We’ve been very consistent and that’s why we’ve won the last two games, because of how consistent our defense has played.”

Where have the Titans shown growth in the first seven games? – The secondary comes to mind as a group that took its lumps against Houston earlier in the year, but has made strides since.

It’s worth remembering the Titans didn’t have a lot of experience in the secondary going into this season, so they had to hope second-year safety Kevin Byard and rookie cornerback Adoree Jackson would come along quickly.

Byard picked off Cleveland’s two quarterbacks three times last Sunday, and his four interceptions this season are now tied for first in the league with Buffalo’s Micah Hyde.

Jackson was picked on by Oakland in the season opener and has been targeted regularly due to his lack of experience. But he’s holding his own in coverage and is a very sound tackler, especially for his size.

The Titans have allowed an average of just 169 passing yards over the last three games, along with a combined two touchdowns through the air.

The Westwood basketball teams welcomed Cascade to the Joel Vinson Gym on Monday night for a conference doubleheader.  Thunder Radio was on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  The Lady Rockets had few answers for the press and athleticism of the Lady Champions as they fell 45 to 10.  The Rockets overcame a halftime deficit and 32 free throws by Cascade to grab a thrilling 52 to 50 win.

In the girls’ game, the Lady Rockets saw Cascade close out the final 11 minutes of the first half on an 18 to 4 run to seize control of the ladies contest.  Turnovers and a strong defensive rebounding effort  by Cascade limited Westwood to 6 points in the first half and 4 in the second half.  Westwood was led in scoring by Alex Nelson who had 4 points.

In a physical and fast-paced boys game, Westwood sent Cascade to the free throw line 24 times in the first half as the Champions hit 18 of them.  Those 18 free throws lifted the Champions to a 26 to 24 halftime lead.  Westwood began to find their defensive rhythm in the 3^rd quarter as they outscored Cascade 18 to 8.  The Rockets held off a late Cascade rally to even their season record at 1 and 1.  Trent Thompson led Westwood in scoring with 22 points.  John Dobson and Will Partin each had 4 points in the 4^th quarter as Dobson finished with 10 points and Partin had 8.

Westwood is back at home on Thursday night when they welcome Moore County to the Joel Vinson Gym.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM and Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you live coverage as part of the Hometown Sports Series.  Our pregame coverage begins at 5:50.

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

Taking on the always tough Warriors and Warriorettes on Monday night, the CCMS 6^th grade basketball teams welcomed White County to the Coffee County Middle School Gym.  After dropping the first meeting of the year to White County, Coffee County played much better basketball this time around.  Unfortunately, that was not enough to capture a win as White County swept the doubleheader.  The Lady Raiders fell 34 to 21 while the Red Raiders fell 45 to 33.

The Lady Raiders got off to a slow start falling behind 10 to 0 after 1 quarter.  A poor performance at the free throw line limited the Lady Raiders’ chance at the upset as Coffee County was 3 for 21 at the line.  The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by NaJaah Brown who had 6 points.  Marissa Medina had 5 points and Remi Benjamin added 4.

The Red Raiders jumped out to a 10 to 5 in the first quarter and a 20 to 19 lead at the half.  White County used a big second half to gain the series sweep over the Raiders.  Cooper Reed was the leading scorer for Coffee County as he had 13 points.  Ethan Hargrave added 10 points while Donovan Morgan chipped in 5.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders are back at home on Tuesday night for a triple-header.  The Red Raiders will host West Tullahoma at 4:30 PM to begin the action.  The Lady Raiders will take on Cascade at 6 PM followed by the boys taking on Cascade immediately following the girls’ game.

Riding a two-game winning streak that has seen them outscore the opposition 12-0, the Motlow Lady Bucks will play their final regular season soccer match on Wednesday, Oct. 25, when they travel to Pulaski to face the Martin Methodist JV squad at 7 p.m.

Motlow (7-7-1) has a chance to finish its first soccer season with a winning record following Friday’s 6-0 win over Martin Methodist JV at Smyrna High School. Last Wednesday the Lady Bucks tossed another shutout, beating the Covenant College JV 6-0 in Winchester. Motlow has won four of its previous five games.

Despite the impressive finish to the regular season by the Lady Bucks, they will not qualify for the playoffs in their first season. Because Motlow is the only NJCAA Division I team in the state, they were placed in a district that features teams from Florida and Mississippi. There were a number of criteria that Motlow had to meet to qualify for the playoffs and they came up short of meeting those benchmarks.

Despite that fact, Head Coach Andy Lyon has guided his team to continuous improvement throughout the season. Since starting the year 2-5-1, Motlow has won five of its previous seven games by a combined score of 24-1.

Against Covenant College JV last Wednesday the Lady Bucks dominated the action from start to finish, with much of the contest being played on the Covenant side of the field. Hannah Feaster got the scoring started at the 32-minute mark on an assist from Megan Blumhoefer, and Paige Loveless added an unassisted goal nine minutes later to give Motlow a 2-0 halftime lead.

After struggling to add to its lead in the first 33 minutes of the second half, the Lady Bucks broke loose and scored four goals in the final 12 minutes. Feaster added her second goal of the game on an assist from Loveless, Keely Smith scored unassisted, Blumhoefer and Bethany Porter added the final two goals, both with assists from Anastasia Wellington.

Ali Shelton and Lena Alakabi combined in goal to complete the shutout, with each making a save on only two shots by the opposition. Motlow had 30 shots and led in corner kicks 6-0.

Against Martin Methodist JV on Friday, the Lady Bucks came out of the gate with an offensive mindset and took the lead just four minutes in with Tyler Feaster scoring an unassisted goal. Smith added a goal at the 13-minutes mark, also without an assist.

Blumhoefer scored the first of two goals on the night just six minutes before the half, and the Lady Bucks took a 3-0 lead into the break.

Motlow’s dominance continued in the second half. Bailee Walls scored at the 66-minute mark on an assist from Wellington, and two minutes later Wellington assisted on Blumhoefer’s second goal of the game. Wellington capped of the scoring with an assist from Tyler Feaster at 81 minutes.

Emily Bryant, Shelton and Alakabi all played in goal for Motlow, with Shelton getting the lone save. The Lady Bucks outshot the Red Hawks 12-4 and led in corner kicks 6-1.

Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at MotlowSports.com for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics on social media at MotlowSports.

Playing their most complete game of the year, the Coffee County Central High School football team came up short to Siegel at Carden-Jarrell Field on Friday night.  Despite the loss, the Red Raiders played in such a fashion that honored the 12 members of the senior class on Senior Night.  And as an added bonus, senior Alontae Taylor broke a pair of career records in the process as Coffee County fell 43 to 35.

Taylor broke the career mark for rushing touchdowns, held by Chris Elam, on the first drive of the game as he punched a quarterback keeper in from 1 yard out to give Coffee County a 7 to 0 lead.  The Raiders and Stars traded first half scores as Siegel took a 22 to 21 lead into the half.

Taylor added a touchdown on a kickoff return and another rushing touchdown in the 2^nd half to give him 81 career touchdowns.  The final touchdown gave Coffee County a 35 to 29 lead with 11:49 left in the game.  Siegel used a pair of big plays to notch three 4^th quarter touchdowns and capture the region win.

Taylor finished the game as the leading rusher as he carried the ball 25 times for 107 yards to become the career leader in rushing yards in Coffee County history; once again eclipsing the mark of Chris Elam.  Deaaron Rozier added 105 yards rushing on 18 carries and Andrew Mahaffey had 82 yards on the ground on 11 carries and 2 touchdowns.  For their efforts, Rozier and Mahaffey were named the Crazy Daisies co-players of the game.  Zach Vaughn caught 4 passes for 42 yards and had a 2 point conversion.  Coffee County finished the game with 471 total yards.

Coffee County hits the road Friday night for the season finale.  Coffee County will travel to Sparta to take on White County.  Thunder Radio, as always, will be on hand to bring you all the action.  Kickoff is set for 7 PM, Thunder Radio begins live coverage with the Friday Night Thunder Pregame Show at 6.

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

The Coffee County elementary basketball league got underway on Saturday with a slate of 6 games.  Six of the seven schools were in action in 3 boys games and 3 girls games held at CCMS.  New Union enjoyed a bye week this week.

In girls’ action, North Coffee defeated East Coffee 35 to 5.  Hillsboro tripped up College Street 18 to 13 and Westwood downed Deerfield 22 to 2.

In boys’ action, North Coffee won a hard fought 26 to 14 decision.  College Street ran past Hillsboro 30 to 20 and Westwood held off Deerfield 34 to 15.

Next Saturday, league games return to Coffee County Central High School beginning at 9 AM.  Deerfield will open up with a girls contest at 9 against Hillsboro followed by the boys game at 10.  At 11, Westwood will take on College Street in a pair of games and at 1 PM it will be East Coffee tangling with New Union.

The Coffee County Youth Bass Club took to the friendly waters of Tims Ford on Saturday for a South Central Tennessee Region BASS Nation High School tournament.  Fishing against more than 80 boats, the Red Raider anglers fared well as 3 teams finished in the top 12 in the standings.  Additionally, Coffee County grabbed a 7^th place finish in the junior division.

For the high schoolers, Coffee County was paced by Ceygan Thomas and Cameron Bates who landed a 5 stringer limit weighing in at 6.84 pounds.  Their biggest fish tipped the scales at 2.59 pounds which was good enough for a 5^th place finish.  Garrett Davis and Isiah Owens caught 2 fish weighing in at 4.97 pounds with a big fish of 4.22 pounds which was good enough for 10^th place.  The team of Hunter Sanders and Blake Mangrum came in 12^th as they caught a stringer of 4.56 pounds.

Others catching fish for Coffee County were Hunter Haley and Garrett Fellers who caught one fish for 1.91 pounds and 34^th place.  Branson Wells and Dawson Wells had 1 fish for 1.83 pounds and 36^th place.  Shannah Frame and Jase Rice finished in 40^th place with 1 fish weighing 1.77 pounds.  Joe White and Christopher Wise came in 43^rd with one fish weighing 1.68 pounds.  Jacob Garms and Hogan Scott finished in 45^th place with 1 fish weighing in at 1.65 pounds and Colby Thurmond and Braeden Thurmond came in 49^th place with 1 fish weighing 1.08 pounds.

Delainee Driver and Grayson Mangrun finished in 7^th place in the junior division as they landed a 1.93 pound bass in their first ever tournament.  The Coffee County Youth Bass Club will be back in action on Saturday, November 11^th at Percy Priest.  Boats will push off from Fate Sanders at sunrise.

This Saturday October 21, the Manchester Peewee Division were at home to finish the regular season.

The first game the Red Raiders faced the Franklin County Rebels. The Raiders scores were made by #9 Boogie Morris, and on the defence the Raiders tackles were mostly made by Boogie Morris, and #33 Hayes Shemwell. In the end the Raiders came to victory 25-13.

In the second game, Raiders went against the Fayetteville Tigers. Though the game came to a 6-26 loss. The Red Raiders pushed their way forward. Raiders touchdown was made by Morris, but the offense led on with Hayes Shemwell rushing.

This week concluded the Raiders regular season, but the peewee Raiders will continue to the playoffs. Come out and support our Red Raider football team

Darryn Strickland’s Report

 

The Titans made plenty of mistakes by the lake, but they survived.

Kicker Ryan Succop’s 47-yard kick with 1:55 remaining in overtime gave the Titans a 12-9 win over the Browns.

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 21-of-34 passes for 203 yards in the contest, with a passer rating of 78.4.

The Titans continued to struggle in the red zone and on third down in this one, and the team relied on Succop for three field goals.

Titans safety Kevin Byard saved the day time and again with three interceptions.

The Titans improved to 4-3 with the win.

The Titans jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter on Succop’s 43-yard field goal, which capped an 11-play, 45-yard drive. Mariota connected with receiver Rishard Matthews on an 18-yard completion to set the drive in motion.

The Browns tied the game with 8:31 remaining in the second quarter on a 31-yard field goal by kicker Zane Gonzalez. A fumble by Titans tight end Delanie Walker gave Cleveland the ball at the Tennessee 40.

The Titans reclaimed the lead on a 23-yard field goal by Succop, which made it 6-3 with 1:37 left in the second quarter. The kick capped a 14-play, 70-yard drive that took 6:54 off the clock.

Byard made a big play near the end of the first half, and the Titans led 6-3 at the break.

With the Browns driving, Byard stepped in front of a pass thrown by quarterback DeShone Kizer and intercepted it, and the game went to halftime.

Byard came up with another interception in the third quarter, setting the Titans up at the Cleveland 32. The Titans then drove the ball to the Cleveland one-yard line, where they had it first-and-goal. But the Titans couldn’t get it in on four straight plays, as running back Derrick Henry was stuffed for no gain on fourth-and-goal.

After Cody Kessler replaced Kizer at quarterback, the Browns then drove 70 yards on 10 plays, and tied the game at 6-6 with 4:25 remaining.

Succop’s third field goal of the game, from 46 yards, capped a nine-play, 47-yard drive and it gave the Titans a 9-6 lead with 14:50 remaining in the game. The kick extended Succop’s streak of successful field goals inside the 50 to 54. Succop missed a 53-yard field goal with 8:44 left. His game-winner made it 55 in a row.

Byard ended another Cleveland drive when he intercepted Kessler at the Tennessee eight-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. But the Browns tied it with a 54-yard field goal from Gonzalez with 47 seconds left, and the game went to overtime.

The Titans have a bye next weekend before returning to action on November 5 against the Ravens at Nissan Stadium.